Why secularism is a blunder in Nepal

by: Dirgha Raj Prasai

In the annals of world civilisation, Hindu philosophy is considered liberal, simple and tolerant. Nepal as a Hindu state did not just signify her Hindu religious leanings. It was also a source of Nepali nationalism and an inescapable fact of Nepal. Hence declaration of Nepal as a secular state has ignored the ground realities. Among all religions, Hindu religion is considered the most liberal. According to renowned philosopher Voltaire, Hinduism is the best gift of the East to the West. Similarly, George Bernard Shaw, Irish litteratteur, said, "Hindu religion is the most important and the most liberal religion in the world". According to the Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics, signs of Hindu religion are found in Islamic countries like Iran. A stone scripture dating back to 486 BC in Iran contains the words Hindu and Hindus. Even an ancient Parsi scripture, Shatir, repeates the famous Ved Vyas saying "I am a true Hindu born, in a Hindu country". Another Hindu philosopher Manu considers the area between Bindhya in south India and the Himalayas in the north as Aryabrata, the land of Aryans. Even outside travellers to the region like Megasthaniz and Fai Han have written in their memoirs that Hindus are tall, healthy, simple, intelligent and truthful. That Hindus do not need to bring witnesses to financial deals and they do not lock their houses as incidents of theft are simply not heard of. The rise of Buddhism does not make much of a difference because Buddhism and Hinduism are complementary to each other and Kiratis also worship the same gods, such as Shiva and Bhagawati, as do the Hindus. Instead of declaring Nepal a completely secular state, it would have made more sense, in keeping with the ground realities, if it had been declared both Hindu and Buddhist country. There are about 800 million Hindus in India and Indian Hindus respect Nepal as a Hindu country. This should be taken as a matter of pride. For security reasons too, Nepal, a small country with open border to the south, has a big advantage as a Hindu country. It also needs to be borne in mind that no one has the right to trample on the conviction of more than two-thirds of the people. Even when Nepal was a Hindu kingdom, its cosmopolitan nature made it secular. Hindus have never harassed or troubled the followers of other religions. In whose interest is the declaration of a secular country, then? The seven parties must rethink their decision. What they should have done instead is strive to remove anomalies like untouchablility and caste-based and social discriminations. Apart from some social anomalies there is nothing in Hindu religion that should be opposed.Declaring Nepal a secular country only serves the interest of a small section of the populace. Otherwise, Hinduism is the most liberal and tolerant of religions. How can the oldest and most liberal of religions be thrown away just like that? No religion (and certainly not Hinduism) should be made a political issue. But by declaring Nepal a secular state, the government has done just that: tried to put together the unmixables, which could be dangerous to the whole Nepali society. All Nepalis should unite and raise voice to upturn the decision and declare Nepal a Hindu and Buddhist country, as the country's natural characterstics dictate.
Email:dirgharajparsai@yahoo.com